On Friday India’s government announced that India and China have agreed to work urgently to withdraw tens of thousands of troops stationed along their disputed border, aiming to resolve a long-running standoff.
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Thursday during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Laos. They emphasized the need for an early resolution of outstanding issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the disputed Himalayan border between the two nations.
LAC separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to India’s eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety. Relations between the two countries deteriorated in July 2020 after a military clash resulted in the deaths of at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers, leading to a prolonged standoff in the rugged mountainous region. Both sides have stationed tens of thousands of military personnel, supported by artillery, tanks, and fighter jets.
According to an Indian statement, the two foreign ministers “agreed on the need to work with purpose and urgency to achieve complete disengagement at the earliest.” The statement highlighted that peace on the border is essential for restoring normalcy in ties between the two countries.
Jaishankar remarked that the border issues have “cast a shadow” over India-China relations for the past four years despite considerable efforts by both sides to resolve them. “The state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties,” he stated.
Wang Yi stressed that improving China-India relations is beneficial for both countries and other nations, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. Both sides agreed to work together to maintain peace in border areas and push for progress.
India and China fought a war over their border in 1962. The Line of Actual Control divides areas of physical control rather than territorial claims. India asserts that the de facto border is 3,488 kilometers (2,167 miles) long, while China claims a considerably shorter distance.
Top Indian and Chinese army commanders have held several rounds of talks since the 2020 clash to discuss the disengagement of troops from tension areas, signaling a mutual interest in de-escalating the conflict.